PHIL 144: Social and Political Philosophy
University of California, Santa Cruz
Department of Philosophy
Summer 2015
INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Lucas Fain
[email protected]
CLASS MEETINGS
MW 6:00pm-9:30pm
Social Science 2, Room 75
OFFICE HOURS
Cowell Faculty Annex
By appointment
Overview: With the introduction of scientific rationality into the intellectual discourse of the
seventeenth-century, the European imagination envisioned new possibilities for an increasingly urban,
cosmopolitan civilization. Advancements in the scientific mastery of nature and society offered to
improve health, secure individual liberty, and increase material prosperity. Yet the very promises of
the Enlightenment produced new fears that the celebrations of modern achievement reflected a naive
optimism, behind which lurked more pernicious threats of political oppression, social alienation, and
cultural disenchantment. This course will chart the vicissitudes of the modern Enlightenment through
a study of foundational texts in the history of European political philosophy and social thought. The
aim is to consider how several key thinkers have contributed to an ongoing debate about the nature
of modern progress, and our goal is to ask whether the ideals and ambitions of the Enlightenment
have produced conditions conducive to the realization of human freedom, or whether these same
ideals and ambitions have produced the conditions for unyielding social domination. Authors will
include Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Weber, and Foucault.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course. However, some familiarity with ancient and
modern philosophy or European intellectual history will help you to contextualize the readings and
issues of this course.
Readings: The texts are the foundation of the course. If you like to read and discuss challenging
theoretical works, you are likely to succeed in this class. That said, the material is dense, difficult, and
highly idiomatic. It therefore requires you to practice “slow reading,” which takes time, concentration,
patience, and reflection. You will get more out of the lectures if your reading is completed before coming
to class. Please come to class equipped with the texts assigned for that day.
Required Texts:
All readings are either available for purchase at the Bay Tree Bookstore or uploaded to ecommons.
Foucault, M. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison (Vintage): ISBN: 9780679752554
Hegel, G.W.F. Introduction to the Philosophy of History (Hackett): ISBN: 9780872200562
Kant, I. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals: With on a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic
Concerns (Hackett): ISBN: 9780872201668
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Marx, K & Engels, F. The Marx-Engels Reader (Norton): ISBN: 9780393090406
Rousseau, J-J. The Basic Political Writings (Hackett): ISBN: 9780872200470
Optional Texts:
Kant, I. Political Writings (Cambridge): ISBN: 9780521398374
Weber, M. From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Oxford): ISBN: 9780195004625
Course Requirements: Attendance is expected. Please arrive on time and prepared to discuss the
readings assigned for that day. Students are required to complete all assignments. In addition to regular
attendance there will be a short (≤ 1250 word) midterm paper and a longer (≤ 2000 word) cumulative
final paper.
Midterm Paper
Final Paper
Participation
30%
50%
20%
Due at the beginning of class: Monday, July 6
Due at the beginning of class: Wednesday, July 22
Participation is evaluated on the basis of evidence of your preparedness in the course. A lack of inclass participation will neither hurt nor help your final grade. Poor preparedness, coming late to class,
leaving early, fidgeting with electronic devices for reasons other than taking notes or reading course
documents, conspicuous eating, or detracting from the overall learning environment will negatively
affect your final grade. Consistently excellent participation, preparedness, and collegiality may be
recognized in your final grade.
Note on Electronic Devices: While the use of laptops for the purpose of taking notes or reading
course documents is not forbidden in this course, it is strongly recommended that you do not use
electronic devices in this class. This will help you to not only avoid distractions, it will also allow you
to easily flip back and forth between pages and annotate your texts. There are several PDFs assigned
in this class. It is recommended that you print, read, and annotate hardcopies of these texts.
Evaluation of Written Work: Assessment in this course will take the form of an A-NP letter grade.
The following standards will be applied to written work in this course:
A: Excellent work, with clear, challenging, original ideas supported by sufficient, appropriate, logically
interpreted evidence. The essay should engage the reader in the inquiry, convincingly answer opposing
views, be well organized, and free of significant flaws. An ‘A’ paper should be not just good but
outstanding in ideas and presentation.
B: Good to very good work, with a clear thesis supported by sufficient, appropriate evidence,
organized and interpreted logically. The ‘B’ paper may have some outstanding qualities but be marked
by significant flaws which keep it from being an ‘A’; or it may be all-around good work, free of major
problems but lacking the deeper insight necessary for excellence.
C: Satisfactory work, but not yet good. The ‘C’ paper meets the basic requirements of a thesis
supported by interpretation of specific evidence, but it needs work in thinking and/or presentation.
There may be a lack of clarity, the evidence may not always be sufficient and appropriate, or the
interpretation may have logical flaws. The essay may have organizational or mechanical problems that
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keep it from being good. The ‘C’ paper may be good in some respects but poor in others, or it may
simply be adequate but not noteworthy overall.
D: Barely passing work that shows effort but is so marred by serious problems that it cannot be
considered a satisfactory paper. Papers without a readily identifiable thesis are liable to be graded ‘D’.
No Pass: Failing work—for example, a hasty, sloppy paper that shows little or no thought, effort, or
familiarity with the text.
Late papers will receive 1/3 grade deduction for every day late (A- becomes B+). N. B.
Extensions for submitting an assignment will be granted only for medical reasons or on grounds of a
family situation or disability. In order to obtain an extension, you must submit a request in writing to
the instructor prior to the due date and be prepared to submit supporting evidence for the extension.
The instructor reserves the right to specify the location for submitting late papers. The instructor
cannot be expected to return late work in a timely manner.
Please Note: Poor mechanics detract from your grades, but good mechanics by themselves do not
make a good paper. Sloppy grammar, punctuation, and spelling tax the goodwill of your reader, which
all effective writing is careful to respect. These problems won’t be overlooked, since they affect the
communication of thought. Your enrollment in this course implies that you have read and understood
the evaluation criteria.
Academic Policies and Resources:
Learning Support Services:
Learning Support Services helps students find the resources they need to succeed academically. While
there is no tutor specifically designated for this course, there are writing tutors available to all students;
you should consider trying to use this service as you prepare to turn in the required paper. Learning
Support Services are free of charge. For more information, please see: http://www2.ucsc.edu/lss/
Accessibility and Disabilities:
If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please get an Accommodation
Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and submit it to me in person outside of
class (e.g., office hours) during the first week of the course. Contact the DRC at 459-2089 (voice),
459-4806 (TTY), or http://drc.ucsc.edu for more information on the requirements and/or process,
or if you would like more information about the center. You are not obligated to use DRC services
if you contact them, all information is confidential, and services are free of charge.
Academic Integrity: Familiarize yourself with the University’s principles, policies, and procedures
regarding breaches of academic integrity. These can be found on the “academic integrity” website at:
https://www.ue.ucsc.edu/academic_integrity
If you are unsure about anything that you read on this website, or what is acceptable or not acceptable
in completing assignments for this course, please come and see me. No offenses against standards of
academic integrity will be tolerated. Typically, if a plagiarism case or another case violating academic
integrity seems to me to be clear cut, it will be processed through the University’s system and the
academic penalty of failure in the class will be imposed.
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Course Modification Statement: The instructor and University reserve the right to modify elements
of the course during the term. Under exigent circumstances, the University may change the dates and
deadlines for any or all courses. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice
and communication will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is
the responsibility of the student to regularly check UCSC email and course websites during the term
in order to note any changes.
Assignment Sequence:
WEEK 1
Monday, June 22
Thomas Hobbes: The Scientific Enlightenment in Politics
Hobbes, Elements of Law, Book II, Ch.10, §8
Hobbes, Leviathan, Chs. 13, 14, 15
Wednesday, June 24
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Critique of the Enlightenment
Rousseau, Discourse on the Arts and Sciences. Basic Political Writings, pp. 1-21
Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Basic Political Writings, pp. 25-81
WEEK 2
Monday, June 29
Rousseau and Kant: From the General Will to Rational Autonomy
Rousseau, On the Social Contract. Basic Political Writings, pp. 141-227
Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, pp. 1-62 (esp. pp. 1-17, 20-44)
Wednesday, July 1
Immanuel Kant: Defending the Enlightenment
Kant, “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose.” Political Writings, pp. 41-53
Kant, “An Answer to the Question: ‘What is Enlightenment.” Political Writings, pp. 54-60
Kant, “On the Common Saying: ‘This May Be True in Theory, But it Does Not Apply in
Practice.” Political Writings, pp. 61-92
WEEK 3
Monday, July 6: MIDTERM PAPER DUE
Benjamin Constant and G.W.F. Hegel: The End of History
Constant, “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared to the Moderns.” Political Writings, pp. 309328
Hegel, “The Master-Slave Dialectic.” Phenomenology of Spirit, §§178-196
Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel, pp. 38-41
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Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History with an Appendix from the Philosophy of Right, all (esp. pp.
12-82)
Wednesday, July 8
Karl Marx: The Critique of Capitalist Society
The Marx-Engels Reader
Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach,” pp. 143-145
Marx, “On the Jewish Question,” pp. 26-52
Marx, “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844,” pp. 70-105
Recommended:
Marx, “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s ‘Philosophy of Right’,” pp. 53-65.
Marx, “1872 Amsterdam Speech,” pp. 522-524
Marx, “Critique of the Gotha Program,” pp. 525-541
Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, pp. 473-491
Marx, Capital, Volume One, pp. 294-438
WEEK 4
Monday, July 13
Karl Marx and Max Weber: Ideology and Bureaucracy
Marx and Engels, “The German Ideology,” pp. 146-200
Weber: Selected Essays:
“Bureaucracy.” From Max Weber, pp. 196-244
“The Profession and Vocation of Politics.” Political Writings, 309-369
Recommended:
Weber: Selected Essays:
“Socialism.” Political Writings, pp. 272-303
“Meaning of Discipline.” From Max Weber, pp. 253-264
“On the Situation of Constitutional Democracy in Russia.” Political Writings, pp. 29-74 (esp. pp.
63-74)
“Charismatic Authority.” From Max Weber, pp. 245-252
Wednesday, July 15
Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno: The Self-Destruction of Enlightenment
Horkheimer, “Traditional and Critical Theory.” Critical Theory, pp. 188-252
Adorno and Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment. “Preface and Introduction,” ix-xvii; “Concept
of Enlightenment,” 3-42; “The Culture Industry,” pp. 120-167
WEEK 5
Monday, July 20
Michel Foucault: Domination and Transgression
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Foucault, “What Is Enlightenment?” The Foucault Reader, pp. 32-50
Foucault, Discipline & Punish. Parts 1, 3 & 4, pp. 3-72, 135-308
Recommended:
Foucault, Selection on “Power” from The History of Sexuality, vol. I, pp. 92-96
Foucault, “Two Lectures” in Power/Knowledge, pp. 78-108
Wednesday, July 22: FINAL PAPER DUE
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